18 December 2014, Lagos – Citing the free fall of oil prices at the international market, the Fiscal Responsibility Commission (FRC) and Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) are collaborating to shore up the revenue base of the Federal Government by exploring new sources in this respect.
To this end, a committee had been raised to work out modalities for the realisation of the move.
A statement signed by the Head of Press of FRC, Abdul Ganiyu Aminu and made available to The Guardian said the agreement was reached at the end of a meeting held Wednesday FIRS headquarters in Abuja between the management of the two bodies led by their respective chief executives.
Speaking at the event, FRC’s Acting Chairman, Barrister Victor Muruako said only the strict implementation of the Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2007 could guarantee full implementation of the annual budget.
He assured that his Commission would ensure prompt remittance of operating surplus by revenue generating agencies to herald effective budgeting for the country.
According to him, “it is high time Nigeria took a cue from countries like Singapore, India and Brazil which have done away with budget deficit through strict adherence to fiscal discipline.”
The Commission, he added, has responded to this by designing a new template for calculating operating surplus which would be adopted early next year. .
He appealed to the FIRS, as the second largest revenue earner of the Federal Government, to assist the Commission in pursuit of its mandate.
Earlier, the Acting Chairman of the FIRS, Alhaji Kabir Mashi, assured his organisation’s readiness to work with the FRC in ensuring compliance by the MDAs in line with the FRA, 2007.
Mashi revealed that FIRS was working to ensure that tax payers got value for tax remittance, adding that tax payment was on the notch in Lagos because payers see value for their money.
– The Guardian
